WHERE IS IT FOUND?

Unfortunately, Ritalin and related “hyperactivity” type drugs can be found almost anywhere. If you are in high school or college, you are likely to have a large supply readily to hand, with “pushers” (your fellow students) eager to make an easy profit from you.

Photo credit: istockphoto.com/Matty Symons

In some schools, as many as 20% of the students take the drug regularly. The Drug Enforcement Administration found that many of these schools had more of these drugs than the neighborhood pharmacy.

Why is it so common? It is all too easy for a “friend” to take some of his little brother’s prescription pills and turn around and sell them at $5 a pop. Or a student eager for a quick fix tells a school nurse he has a “study disorder” and “can’t concentrate.” He gets a prescription and stocks up on the pills for future use, handing out extras to his friends.

While the law forbids unrestricted distribution of these powerful stimulants,1 the sad fact remains that these substances are freely available almost anywhere. Kiddie Cocaine, as it has been called, is handed out like candy.

“The symptoms of almost an overdose kick in. The person gets very hyper, hypersensitive, hyperalert, with very intense mood swings. It’s crazy.”—Jake

1. stimulant: a drug that increases immediate energy and alertness but that is accompanied by increases in blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.